The present invention generally relates to multi-function units, servers and network systems having multi-function units, and more particularly to a multi-function unit having multi-functions which include the functions of a scanner, facsimile machine, copying machine, printer, document registering unit, display unit and the like, and to a server which is coupled to such a multi-function unit, and also to a network system having such a multi-function unit.
Conventionally, it is known to process information in a computer system including a plurality of computers which are coupled by a network such as a local area network (LAN). In such a computer system, information can be printed on a printer which is coupled to the LAN by sending a print instruction to the printer from each computer. However, in such a computer system, a copying machine and the like are not coupled to the LAN, and the copying machine and the like themselves are provided as independent equipments with respect to the computer system.
If a facsimile machine and a copying machine are respectively provided independently of the computer system, for example, the space utilization efficiency is poor, and the cost of the system increases by a sum of the costs of the two independent equipments, namely, the facsimile machine and the copying machine. Hence, a multi-function unit having both the facsimile function and the copying function has been proposed. But even in the case of this proposed multi-function unit, the multi-function unit itself is still an independent equipment which is not coupled to the computer system via the network.
On the other hand, in the conventional computer system, a manager on the server side collects, processes and transmits the information, and the so-called pull-type structure is used whereby the end user goes to the server to retrieve the information. On the contrary, the so-called push-type structure has also been proposed whereby the server side distributes the information and the end user receives this information from the server.
Therefore, conventionally, there were problems in that equipments such as the copying machine cannot operate by linking to a computer system and that the space utilization efficiency is poor, because each equipment is an independent equipment by itself. In addition, even in the case of the multi-function unit having both the facsimile function and the copying function, for example, similar problems existed since the multi-function unit is also an independent equipment by itself.
On the other hand, the conventional computer system employing the push-type or pull-type structure is designed by focusing mainly on the server, and there was no concept of a push-type or pull-type structure which is designed by focusing mainly on the end user. As a result, there also were problems in that the usage and flexibility of the conventional computer system are not always satisfactory.